


French Study

by sunflow_rs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Coffee, Coffee Shops, Cute, Draco Speaks French, First Meetings, Fluff, Happy Ending, Harry is learning French, M/M, Oblivious Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-13 19:22:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16024352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflow_rs/pseuds/sunflow_rs
Summary: The local cafe that Harry often uses to study in, is often inhabited by the attractive Draco Malfoy and his equally gorgeous friends. While studying for a French exam, Harry overhears the group discussing how handsome the man with glasses is. It takes Harry a while to figure out that said man is him.





	French Study

Harry had never felt more inadequate, nor in awe, than he did at the coffee shop a few blocks away from his apartment. A part of his routine was to treat himself to a coffee after a day of lectures, especially if he had a big assessment due and the caffeine was needed to keep him awake for the, most likely, last minute work. However, usually a table away from him sat an unconventionally handsome man with a group of equally attractive people. 

Paper was spread out in front of Harry, words in French that his brain grasped to understand. He had extra space as part of his degree and his godfather, who had learnt the language at a young age, suggested that it may be beneficial. Taking French also meant that video calls with Sirius could actually be labelled as ‘study’, much to Hermione’s disagreement. Tomorrow Harry had a verbal exam. While he found writing and reading okay, actually listening to the fast-pace of a French speaker was intimidating and difficult. 

Harry picked up the coffee cup and stared at the screen of his laptop with tired eyes. He glanced few tables across, watching as the handsome stranger pushed back his blonde hair and announced something to his friends. Despite feeling bad for eavesdropping, Harry concentrated on the dialect exchanged between the unfairly beautiful group of friends. Their conversation was in French, which Harry found intriguing considering he had always heard them speak in English before. 

Alarmed at the man turning and gesturing towards him, Harry ducked his head subtly. The table of friends were no doubt making a comparison between their obvious put-togetherness and Harry’s barely presentable self. For close to midnight, Harry did fit in with the other students in the coffee shop. His body was running on only a few hours of sleep, so he was in his comfortable clothes with hair in all directions. The table next to him however, looked as though they’d come straight from a fashion show in which they’d all been models. The blonde man, who always caught Harry’s eye, not only had sharp yet delicate facial features, but was dressed impeccably (particularly for this time of night). Dress shoes, smart jeans and a blazer was worn, by both him and the other man in the group. Who, with warm eyes and a strong jawline, was also turning heads in the room. 

“ _Il est beau_ (He is handsome).” Harry heard the blonde say to the girl next to him. 

She, like her company, was also beautiful. Dark hair cut fashionably short, framing her narrow face that was done up with minimal makeup. However, Harry’s gaze quickly fell back to the blonde man, who was far more his type than the woman.

“ _Quoi, l'homme aux lunettes?_ (What, the man with the glasses?).” The girl replied, looking around the small shop.

At her question, Harry’s attention was once again diverted from doing work. Surely this was studying, right? The practice of understanding their speech would be helpful in his examination. Although, looking around the coffee shop, Harry wasn’t so sure he had correctly interpreted the woman’s dialogue or not. Of the few customers in the cosy cafe, Harry was the only man wearing glasses. This also made him realise that the blonde couldn’t be straight, and despite himself, a small smile began to appear on Harry’s face.

Did the incredibly attractive man think that he, Harry Potter, was handsome? Sure, Harry didn’t think he was terrible looking. With his mother’s green eyes and his father’s darker skin and (on a good day) charming curls, Harry guessed he could be quite the looker. But sitting in a cafe at midnight, desperately drinking coffee and continuously pushing his round glasses up, Harry doubted the man could be referring to him.

“ _Oui, il est mignon_ (Yes, he is cute).” The blonde man looked over, made eye contact with Harry and winked. Harry, who felt enraptured, looked away embarrassingly. He had never before noticed that the man’s eyes were such a beautiful shade, trapped somewhere between grey and blue.

“ _Tu devrais lui dire, Draco_ (You should tell him, Draco).” The other man said, who before this point had not contributed to the conversation, instead fiddling with the sugar packets.

The man - Draco - glanced over again, but Harry quickly looked down, moving his notes into neat piles. His coffee was long gone, and as he stared at the foam caught along the bottom of the cup, he realised that they were most definitely talking about him. 

“ _Non!_ (No!)” Draco replied quickly, turning to glare at his friend. “ _Il préfère probablement Pansy, pas moi_ (He probably prefers Pansy, not me).”

Whether it was the midnight fuelled adrenaline, or the number of months spent in this same coffee shop staring over at the blonde man with interest, Harry knew he should do something. It would be no good to tell Hermione and Ron the next day about the conversation he’d overhead. As soon as they held hands he would wish he had done something to prevent himself being the single, third wheel friend. 

Harry shut down his laptop and collected his assortment of notes from the table, placing them all in his bag. He looked to where Draco was laughing at something the other man said, and where the woman (Pansy?) was smirking in amusement. Shouldering his satchel, Harry took a deep breath and walked over. 

“ _Je pense que tu es beau aussi_ (I think you’re handsome too).”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Sorry if my French translations are inaccurate - please don't be shy to correct me on any mistakes! I do not know French haha. Leave kudos and comment if you enjoyed :D
> 
> Credit to @dailyau and @authorkurikuri on Tumblr for the prompt that inspired this.


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